Posted on June 22, 2026
For the past six years, calculations, drawings and plans have been prepared to reinforce the 30-kilometer-long dike between the city of Zwolle and the town of Olst in the Netherlands. Starting this year, the Boskalis Nederland project team also began the physical work, with the official kick-off with all stakeholders taking place this week. Over the next eight years, they will be working on the project – a key component of the Dutch national Flood Protection Program – using excavators, trucks, shovels, bulldozers and rollers. A large number of these machines are electric and can be charged on-site using battery containers.
A total of approximately 3 million cubic meters of soil will be needed to reinforce the dike. Much of this material will be extracted from the project area and reused in the new dike. In addition, sheet piles and vertical sand-proof geotextile (VZG) will be applied to help counteract piping, a failure mechanism in which water flows underneath the dike and carries sand with it.
We wish the project team every success during the execution of this dike reinforcement project and thank our partner Waterschap Drents Overijsselse Delta for the pleasant collaboration in this two-phase contract.
